Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

Searching:
The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580416 16 April 1958
VWL3506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 [21 March, 1956]
VWL3096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550619 [19 June 1955]
VWL5164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541126 Nov 26 1954
VWL2886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19541116 [16 November, 1954]
VWL5160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541103 1954 NOV 3
VWL5159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541102 1954 Nov 2
VWL4374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19530729 29 July, 1953
VWL2621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19530124 24 Jan [19]53
VWL2251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19510607 7 June 1951
VWL5128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19490508 May 8th [1949?]
VWL3642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490128 28th Jan. 1949
VWL5122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19450422 Apr 22 1945
VWL1230 Telegram from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391213 13 Dec 39
VWL4260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361120 [20 November 1936]
VWL4311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19350330 30 March 1935
VWL3999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 19301127 27 November 1937
VWL688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19291003 [3 October 1929]
VWL3630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to ? Cecil Sharp 19061127 27 Nov 1906
VWL4320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19041231 [31 December, 1904]
VWL296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980604 1898 den 4ten Juni 5 Uhr 25 Min

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival